What Scares You?
by morgana07
Summary: 1-shot. Just before the demons bust in, Victor Henriksen asks a question that Dean doesn't want to answer & then is surprised by what he learns not only about Dean but why Dean is willing to do what he does. Pensive/wary!Dean & Curious!Henriksen / Sam does make a cameo.


**What Scares You?**

**Summary: **_1-shot. Just before the demons bust in, Victor Henriksen asks a question that Dean doesn't want to answer & then is surprised by what he learns not only about Dean but why Dean is willing to do what he does. Pensive/wary!Dean & Curious!Henriksen / Sam does make a cameo. _

**Tags: **_I'll tag it to 03x12: Jus In Bello. It's a conversation that could've happened between Dean and everyone's favorite FBI Agent._

**Warnings/Spoilers: **_Minor language, some spoilers if you haven't seen Season 3. _

**Disclaimer: **_I don't own the boys or anything to do with the show. This is purely for fun._

**A/N: **_There have been a few episodes that I swore never to write for. This is one of them but the muse decided it wanted to. I'm leery of using characters I'm not accustomed to writing so bear with me as Agent Henriksen makes his debut in my writing. Enjoy._

**SPN SPN SPN**

"What scares you?"

There was a question that Dean Winchester wasn't expecting to hear considering recent events. So surprised to hear it now, he nearly dropped the weapon he was loading to glance up at the serious looking bald African American Fed that had been dogging his and Sam's heels for months and who had just recently locked them up.

"Come again?" he asked, not understanding why that would be the question that Special Agent Victor Henriksen would ask him out of the thousands available. "You just had your ass possessed, found out that demons, ghosts, vampires, and nearly every other ghoul known to man or Fed exists and you're asking what scares me?" Dean shot the older man a familiar cocky smirk to cover the slight unease he felt at what should've been a simple question. "How long have you been after me and Sam, Henriksen? Don't you know that nothing scares me…unless it was thinking there was a chance of a little me running around?"

Lifting a brow at the comment, Henriksen nodded slightly. "Yeah, well I can see why that'd worry you…and half of the future mothers of America," he decided, not missing when the young hunter's smirk turned into a slight frown as that mild insult registered but he wasn't going to let him push this topic away that easily.

It was true that Henriksen had been furiously trying to get the Winchester brothers behind bars from the first moment their case file was tossed on his desk. A career field agent he'd seen the worst killers in America but nothing compared to some of the things he'd seen in that field or witnessed with his own two eyes that these two young brothers were said to have committed.

Maybe he'd made a snap judgement based merely on the files, the evidence in those files and what he'd felt simply from a conversation over the phone and once brief meeting but all of that had told him that Dean Winchester was the worst serial killer to walk and he'd made it his job to see him and his brother behind bars.

Dean was cocky, arrogant, and too sure of himself and Henriksen knew that kind was always dangerous. He was the kind who could lie, con, cheat and steal while stabbing you in the heart. He'd been accused of multiple gruesome murders in more than one state, had faked his death and had many other numerous felonies to his name so it would've pleased the FBI man to be the one to throw away the key on what he'd assumed was a cold blooded killer with no soul or concern for anyone.

The Winchesters had eluded him multiple times until now when a tip to the local FBI office in Colorado said exactly where Dean and his younger brother would be and Henriksen was there the moment they locked the cuffs and chains on and he'd only been to happy to stand outside that cell to inform this killer to enjoy the last few hours with his brothers cause once he hauled them off to SuperMax that was it. He'd never see Sam again and that was when Henriksen had seen it and what was making him question Dean now.

"We're trapped in here with how ever dozen of demon possessed people outside wanting to get in to kill all of us. That doesn't scare you?" he pressed, again seeing the smirk and amusement in calm green eyes. The same way he'd seen Dean in Arkansas when the boy seemed happy to get him and Sam locked up in that prison.

Laying the shotgun aside to begin checking the shells that went to it, Dean shook his head. "I've been doing this since I was old enough to hold a blade or a handgun. This doesn't scare me…now letting you near me with a loaded gun…that might."

"Always with the quips and jokes," Henriksen muttered, sitting on the edge of the desk to lift his eyes out to the main office before shifting his attention back to Dean. "It's also one big load of crap and we both know it. Oh, you talk a damn good game and I admit you had me fooled. You had me convinced that you really were this arrogant, uncaring, cocky son of a bitch."

Running his tongue over his teeth, Dean let his eyes drop to what he was doing rather than meet the other man's gaze then he slowly looked up. "I didn't think I let on to be that cocky," he deadpanned, wanting off this topic because the Fed was far too close to a truth Dean never let anyone see, but he suspected Henriksen had caught onto it earlier.

"Oh, you are a master of that, Dean," Henriksen assured him, glancing up to look out toward Sam then smiled thinly while seeing the way Dean's fingers had flexed. "Every cop, every person I've come into contact with have said the same thing about you. Cocky and sure of yourself. No fears…but we both know that's the biggest lie because one thing scares you."

"Nothing scares me, Henriksen…now back the hell off," Dean gritted, standing to go check on the windows when he's brought to a halt by the Federal agent's next word.

"Sam," Henriksen spoke the name simply but knew to be cautious the second Dean's body went rigid. "I saw it tonight, Dean. In the cell, when I said that you'd never see your brother again once you were both in SuperMax. I saw that cockiness vanish for just a split second. Losing Sam scares you."

"No," Dean returned quietly, turning to cut off the argument of the other man with a look of sudden but weary resignation. "Losing Sam isn't what scares me anymore, Henriksen. It's a given in a month or so that I'll lose him…it's the thought of Sammy being hurt that scares me. Got anymore stupid questions?"

Not expecting that response, Henrikson pulled out a chair to sit and was only a little surprised when Dean slumped back into the one he had been sitting in. Waiting a moment while he digested those words, he considered things.

He'd seen Dean in the cell earlier. He'd seen the brief lapse of self assurance at the mention of the government's SuperMax prison and his younger brother. Then, when they thought he'd left, he'd watched Dean try to reassure Sam that he'd get him out of this him. He had seen what he'd thought at the time was a cold blooded killer sit by and just talk to his younger, more worried brother as he tried to get him to sleep while Dean worked on a way out for him.

"It was Sam going into SuperMax that scared you, of him being hurt or…" Henriksen stared hard at this hunter and admitting that he was going to have to readjust his viewpoint yet again. "What the hell is with you, Winchester?" he demanded. "I'm threatening you with life in a Federal prison, maybe a death sentence depending on who had wanted to extradite your ass and you're more worried about Sam. Why? You said in a month you'd lose him anyway so…"

"Because in a month or so the deal I made with a demon comes due and Henriksen, no Federal facility has been made that'll keep out a goddamn Hellhound and that's what will come to drag me there," Dean replied, looking up from behind lowered lashes to see the surprise on his adversary's face as he added. "So you want to lock me up? You want to throw away the key? Go ahead but you let my brother go first. I'll plead to whatever charge you want if we walk from this but you let Sammy go first because knowing I'm dying and leaving him alone is one nightmare but thinking of him locked in a cell? No, no way in Hell. I won't let Sam face that…he's been through enough and I won't let him face that."

The near desperate, more gruff tone finally gave Henriksen a look at Dean's inner emotions, the ones he knew the kid probably wouldn't show to anyone except maybe his brother and then that would be marginal at best. "You've been lookin' out for him for a long time, haven't you?"

"You have no idea," Dean sighed, letting his head fall back to rest on the wall and closed his eyes, suddenly tired. "I've been looking out for Sammy since the night he was six months old and our Mom was killed in his nursery by a demon. I carried him out of our burning house and promised I'd always be there for him. Protecting Sam, looking out for my pain in the ass little brother, has been my job since I was four years old."

Not sure why he was doing this or why Henriksen was even willing to listen now that he got the answer to his main question. "The first time you and me talked, you said some stuff about my Dad. How he was one of those survivalist types. My Dad was an ex-Marine turned garage mechanic. He was your normal, everyday Dad. Went to work, came home, taught me to throw a football and one day we would've taught my chubby baby brother… then came the night Mom died on the ceiling on Sam's nursery and it all changed.

"My Dad kind of went…obsessive after that," Dean smirked at the understatement of those words but he went on slowly. "He wanted to kill the thing that tore our lives to shreds and he lost sight of the road he was leading his sons down. He'd hunt and leave us with a couple guys he'd met then when I got big enough he'd leave Sam with me so it was basically me and Sammy growing up. What he knows, I taught him and until he was eight, I was able to keep it from him what Dad did because I wanted normal for him. I wanted Sam to grow up without knowing what I did about the world and when that failed, I did my best to keep him safe."

Glancing out the office window to see Sam helping Nancy, the office secretary, with something, Henriksen frowned and took this new information in. "How old were you when…what was the…this is way too weird to think much less say."

"I was younger than eight the first time my Dad taught me to shoot. I was thirteen the first time I killed a spirit to protect Sam," lifting his eyes finally from the black band he wore on his wrist, Dean met the other man's gaze with an honest half-smile. "Nothing I've ever killed has been human…or at least nothing you can pin on me because I won't lie to you and say that I've never gone after something non-human but if I did it was because Sam was hurt and no one hurts my little brother unless they want their lungs ripped out.

"Sam and I grew up depending on one another, Henriksen. Dad wasn't around a lot and when he was he wasn't always the greatest, especially to Sammy because if you think I've got an attitude then you should've seen the two of them," shaking his head, Dean stood up to pace while rubbing his shoulder where he'd recently been shot while remembering too much. "He got out, went to Stanford…then I dragged him back in. His girlfriend died the same way Mom did, our Dad died in a deal to save me and now, to save Sam, I made the same type of deal.

"You want me? Get in line cause Hell's holding a contract with my name on it and all I can do now is hope to get Sam through as much of this crap as possible before my time's up. So, what now?" Dean asked curiously, surprised to feel his hands shake at even the thought of not being able to get Sam out of this mess and unsure what the Fed would do even if they did survive the night.

Henriksen considered this for a long moment before angling his head to watch the older Winchester closely and read the tells only a professional agent could pick up on a man used to hiding this emotions behind a wall of calm. "Why tell me all this?" he asked.

"Because I want you to know that no matter what it looks like on your papers, in those files, that Sam is not like our Father. He's not like me. He's not a hunter by choice," Dean remarked, turning to keep his back to the window but he'd felt Sam's eyes and knew his brother was wondering what was going on. "I knew when I was young that this would be my life because one way or another I'd have to take on Dad's ever important crusade. I did that without question but I made sure that while I did it, my baby brother got out. He's back because of his girlfriend and now because of me…but Sammy is not a cold blooded killer," he paused with that firm proclamation before adding while taking a step closer to the FBI man. "I also told you that to explain while I will fight you and every goddamn agent you bring in before I let you haul my brother away in chains. I will kill for Sam, Henriksen, because that kid's been through too much hell growing up like we did and recently to go to prison because of crap I got him linked to. Remember that."

Lightly patting the man's shoulder, the warning was clear in the green eyes that met his but then just as quickly the seriousness was gone the moment Dean turned to cut Sam off as he opened the office door. "Hey, we demon proofed enough out there or what?" he asked, moving in a steady pattern that kept Sam from entering and easily nudged his brother out.

"No, but then I have to wonder if you know for sure what you are," Henriksen murmured to himself, looking toward the files on the desk before dumping them both in the trash while making a choice he only hoped he lived to carry out.

Later on, after Henriksen found himself still alive after a fight with demon possessed townspeople he had to admit to himself that he was glad he didn't have to do this on a daily basis and the side of him that now knew that there were creatures like demons out there he was also glad to know that people like Dean and Sam Winchester were around to fight them on that daily basis. Though he also had to wonder what else Dean had seen in his life to make him as jaded as he seemed to be.

He watched Dean check and double-check Sam to be sure he hadn't been hurt and only once he had reassured himself of that did the Fed see some of the cockiness come back as their gaze met and there was an understanding finally.

"You asked me what scared me, Henriksen?" Dean had come up to stand beside him while Sam went around to help Nancy and the lone Deputy left alive to check on the people as they woke up. Leaning on the desk to take stock of things, he slowly met the curious gaze of the Federal officer. "Aside from anything hurting Sam? People like this, innocent people who believe the demons, vampires, ghosts and the like are merely stories to tell kids. It scares me that one day people like Sam and me won't be around to stop them from being hurt. It scares me to fail."

"Everyone's scared to fail, kid," Henriksen replies, jerking his head toward the door. "You and Sam get outta here. You are dead and burned in that chopper out there so put some distance between yourselves and here before I make that call."

Still surprised that the man was willing to do that, Dean knew enough not to question it any time good luck smiled their way so with a shout for Sam to get a move on it, he waited a beat then held out a hand. "Thanks."

"We're even," Henriksen shrugged, returning the handshake firmly then eyed the door. "Look out for him?"

"For as long as I'm still able," Dean nodded, walking away with the hope that they'd at least made one more ally that might keep Sam safe once he was gone.

**Later:**

"Dean? We didn't know. We couldn't have known what would happen."

Knowing that and accepting it were too different matters but Dean knew his brother was right. There was no way he and Sam could've known that Lillith would've went after them or that she'd kill everyone in the police station by blowing it up.

"'_What scares you_?'' Victor Henriksen had asked him flat out.

Tuning Ruby out while she lectured, Dean laid a hand on Sam's shoulder and didn't miss the way it shook. His brother was trying to bury how upset he was by this most recent blow so it wouldn't add more pressure on Dean but he lightly squeezed it to say that they'd be alright before slipping outside to clear his head and think of the one answer he hadn't given the man.

"What scares me?" Dean snorted, thinking of his brother, of what Sam would go through once he was gone, of how he'd failed everything their Dad had taught them then thought of what really scared him on top of all that and knew the answer even more strongly now than before. "Hell."

Dean had faced demons in the past but knowing that Hell could create something as vile as the thing that would blow up an entire building just to get to them truly bothered him and he made one final promise to himself that he'd at least see this newest threat to his little brother gone before he got dragged down.

**The End**

**A/N: **_I hope you enjoyed this. I've never used Henriksen as a character before so I hope he came out…well. I think I have one more planned for this episode since that scene in the cell bothered me…just the thought of them being tossed in prison and separated just…bugs me & I know that was probably one of the things that bothered Dean too so we'll see what plot bunnies hatch. Thanks for reading._


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